Some Like it Hot!

Some Like it Hot!
Originally uploaded by whatstepheats

If you like super spicy food and you live in the US, chances are that you've had to go to great lengths to have your wishes fulfilled.

In our own experience, it takes a good 2 or 3 visits to a place before they really start to get it and believe that you're serious when you say, "Don't be afraid, and don't hold back - make it really really spicy!"

Each successive time we say that last time wasn't spicy enough, don't worry - we're not like typical Americans, yada yada yada...

They it clicks, and we are happily sweating and salivating.

Sometimes we even get a little bit of container art as a bonus. This was from Angkor on Wickenden Street. The food is solidly good, not great, but they are so friendly and accomodating that we keep coming back.

I wish they would do more with seafood and stop overcooking the shrimp. I also wish the noodle and rice dishes weren't so dry, but I suspect that's partly due to the styrofoam take-out containers they use. The nime chow is very good, and the tom yum soup is too. I usually order the salmon that they usually have as a special (sans the mango sauce which is likely too sweet). For me they include lots of spicy sauce and some steamed broccoli on the side. It makes me happy.

All in all, Angkor makes for a very satisfying post-Wickenden Pub Friday night take-out meal. It's not ground-breaking or extraordinary, but it's consistently quite good and we are treated with kindness, not contempt. Sometimes, especially around here, that can mean more than cutting edge.

Grilled Shrimp with Heads!

Grilled Shrimp w/ Heads! a photo by whatstepheats on Flickr.

I found these big guys at Whole Foods on Waterman. I'd never seen shrimp with heads around in any local store, so I snatched them up!

They were a big hit with little effort. All it took was a simple marinade of olive oil and blackened seafood seasoning and a little time on the grill. Delicious.

I was reminded of how much better shrimp taste when cooked in the shell, heads or not!

Now if we could only bring on some grilling weather. It's been one soggy spring so far; this rain is getting old.

Newton Running Shoes

Newton Running Shoes
Originally uploaded by whatstepheats

Oh, hi! I got sucked into the vortex of Twitter. It fits so well with my short attention span.

Steven ordered these but they were too small, so you'll have to wait for a review!

He runs a lot and Newtons are supposed to "mimic the advantages of barefoot running", according to their website.
I can't imagine what benefits those would be, but what do I know?

(They remind me of McDonald's; Grimace on the insole would be better than Isaac, don't you think?)

I can say this - the website says they run true to size but it's not so. These run small. S had to go try on last year's model at City Sports on Thayer Street for size and exchange these. Newton's customer service couldn't be better, though.

http://www.newtonrunning.com/